Sometimes these ponderings will be from Caunes, and sometimes from Yorkshire.

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Having a purpose.

Recognising that just “being alive” is no longer enough, I
have started to put some structure back into my life. This means that after a
year of no commitments, apart from Drs appointments, I have decided that I want
some structure back.....some things that mean I have to get up, get dressed, go out, see
people etc.

Being ill can be a very selfish....no, self centred,
activity......and the time has come for me to stop having the world revolve
around me.

So...... yesterday, after a gym session ( I can still be a
bit self centred....I want to be as fit as I can be ! ) I went to spend an hour
in our local hospice charity shop. I met the manager and 2 of the volunteers,
and “worked” for an hour, learning about sorting bags of donations, stock
coding, and pricing. I’m not allowed on the till until my references have been
checked out, but I can get on with anything else that needs doing.

I am very excited about it. I sorted the book display
out......getting all the cookery books on one shelf, tidying the biography
section, the travel section, the sports section and putting the fiction back
into some semblance of alphabetical order.

A customer asked me if the poetry books were in and amongst
the fiction..... and then as an after thought, she asked me if I worked
there.... I told her as I’d only worked there for 20 minutes, I didn’t know the
answer, but I would happily help her look through the muddle to see what we
could find. (Note to self: establish a poetry section).

I also suggested that a lady who wanted a book about Gran
Canaria, change her holiday plans as we had a good selection on
Australia.....she did laugh, honestly.

I chatted with a woman who bought some curling tongs, which
we decided, upon examination, were brand new, as a protecting piece of card was
still attached to the plug.

I priced a couple of blouses, a belt and a pack of teaching
resources aimed at 5 year olds. ( I then bought the pack to give to Jess to use
on her teaching practice ! ) You will be pleased to know that I sought advice
as to how much to charge for the pack, and then added a further 50p, so I could
not be seen as pricing something I wanted to buy, too cheaply !

I loved it. I loved the customers I spoke to, I loved the
idea of previously owned and loved items being given a new lease of life, and I
loved the idea that the hospice benefits with every sale.

I want to work on display, on marketing special events, on
supporting some of the older, more frail volunteers, and on getting to know the
regulars, the occasional shoppers, and on promoting the work of this brilliant
little shop.

I cant wait for next week, when I will be working my first
proper shift, 11-4 on Sunday, and then 10 -1 on Monday. My aim is to work at
least a couple of shifts a week, and I have no idea where this will take me,
but I know it’s going to be fun.

Jess, at the race for Life in Liverpool earlier this year.....purposeful, full of passion and having fun.......Life is good. Lets have more of it !

25 comments:

Absolutely wonderful post, Janice! What a lucky charity shop to have you working there and sorting everything out with such enthusiasm...it's very contagious! It will soon be 'the' place to be. If you need any Zentangled stones, let me know...perhaps my sister could bring some back with her - I'm sure they would be sold for a very good cause. Thanks again for such a beautiful reminder of our time together here in Alcala la Real - I think you really captured it perfectly.Axxx

It was only an hour Annie, but it was such "fun"....I wondered if I would be bored, but if that first hour is anything to go by, there is no chance of that. So glad you liked the photos I sent, and that they arrived safely. Jxxx

You're going to have a great time....it's the best way to recycle stuff after all and you meet a widely differing range of people, both volunteers and customers.And to have a charity shop where the books are sorted...sheer bliss. There is a very well organised Oxfam bookshop in Southampton which always ends up straining my luggage allowance...

Our Oxfam shop has a well organised book section. I think I'll take notes from my next visit there, to see how the hospice shop book section can be improved. I know its going to be fun, somehow I don't think it is going to feel like " work ".

Bravo, Janice. I know you aren't doing this for accolade but in your position it would be very easy to just enjoy life. Your post has shown that helping others can be enjoyable as well as therapeutic.Keep up the good work x

It is funny to have reached the point when I need to have something to do. I was sure that retirement would always be filled with wallowing in not working. I don't think this will ever feel like work, and it is good to think that while I'm doing a bit of "good", I'm actually helping myself too. Jx

An excellent milestone in your journey Janice, and you will clearly enjoy being in the shop. Volunteering is one of the most rewarding things we can do, as long as we find something we love. Well done, and great post. xx

I too love the idea of previously owned and loved items being given a new lease of life.I have accumulated camera gear over the years.Last year I boxed a few cameras up with their manuals etc and took them down to CART in Huddersfield.I hope someone found life in them still.

Did you spot any photography books in the book pile Janice? We will have to see if we can catch you in the shop. x Maria.

I'll have a look for photography books. There were certainly a few books of photographs, if that is what you mean....not sure if there was anything about photography though. It would be good to see you at the shop !

Yes, it is HB, rather than France. Our plans are to spend the winter in Yorkshire ( sounds mad doesn't it, when the other option is the south of France ) but children and grandchildren are here in the UK. So Christmas must be here....and they can visit France more easily in the summer, with school holidays.I don't know about fly on the wall stuff.....it has the makings of a TV sit com I think !

Time will tell if it is going to be as much fun as I imagine. I was incredibly enthusiastic after my first hour......maybe it wont seem so amazing after a few shifts....but I think it will be enjoyable, and it will make me feel as if I am doing a little bit to help.....and moving into a new phase, following my own illness. Interesting times.

Thanks Ayak. There is no doubt that appreciating life is good ! I certainly intend to appreciate every day, even when nothing particularly special happens. I am hoping that working in the shop will give me some structure to each week though, so that I'm not aimlessly going on, in a self centred bubble of "appreciating" being alive. I look forward to hearing about your thought processes following your friend's death.....the mind works in strange ways doesn't it. I hope things are going well on the acquisition of Monty front. Poppy will be so happy. Jx

I just loved this post, Janice, bubbling with energy and enthusiasm. I did the same after early retirement and my first breast cancer, but went the whole hog by moving into full-time parish ministry!

This sounds a really good way of doing something constructive when you're in the UK and making sure the books are properly organised is such a good idea,. My brother-in-law volunteers in the Oxfam shop in Cheltenham and has special responsibility for sorting and pricing the books. Sometimes books are donated which turn out to be surprisingly valuable and these are sold separately to raise more money. Have fun!

I am certainly having fun Perpetua. You must have felt incredibly enthusiastic and adventurous and strong when you made the decision to go into parish ministry full time. I don't think I can really compare doing 2 shifts a week at our little hospice shop with that.....but it is part of feeling good to be alive, wanting to do "something"....and this may be just a little start, but I don't know where it might lead.

I'm sure you'll have a great time doing this, Janice, and working for others is always rewarding. But you did deserve some time to yourself after the experience you've had. One needs a purpose to life but you were quite right to just relax and enjoy life for a while.

About Me

In September 2011 after years of staring longingly in French estate agency windows ..... we finally bought a house 20 minutes drive from Carcassonne, intending to divide our lives between Hebden Bridge and Caunes Minervois. Things haven't worked out quite as we imagined, as I was diagnosed with cancer last October. Following surgery and follow up treatment we are now working hard on my recovery, and are spending time in the two places we love.... Caunes Minervois and Hebden Bridge